Difference between revisions of "User:Stargazer"

From The Coppermind
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Putting spren stuff here for now so that subpage links work)
m (→‎Spren: Different image)
Line 164: Line 164:
 
= Spren =
  
= Spren =
 
<nowiki>{{lifeform
  
<nowiki>{{lifeform
−
|image=Windspren.png
 +
|image=Deathspren by Ashley Coad.png
 
|type={{tag+|Splinter}}
  
|type={{tag+|Splinter}}
 
|abilities=Forming bonds
  
|abilities=Forming bonds

Revision as of 05:35, 16 March 2020


I started reading Brandon's works in 2015 and have been following the community on and off since then. I finally decided to start contributing here in 2019. I'm using this page to keep some resources. I also have a few Subpages for working on big changes to articles that aren't ready to go in the actual article yet.

I'm also a Keeper, which I guess means I'm qualified to answer questions about how to do wiki things or how to handle weird situations. Feel free to contact me on my talk page or on our Coppermind editors Discord server (I'm Stargazer#6905 there if you want to ping me or would feel better direct messaging me).

My thousandth edit came in the middle of a spree to fix the book parameter in all the Skyward infoboxes (I note that only so that I can remember in five years exactly which page it was).

Stormlight Major Characters History Status

  • Kaladin: Pretty detailed through end of OB part 1, though there might be some gaps. Nothing past that.
  • Shallan: Pretty detailed until departure for Kholinar in OB, extremely light past that.
  • Dalinar: Fairly detailed through WoR and very beginning of OB, nothing really past that.
  • Venli: Short, though I think everything's just about there. Could maybe use more detail, since she's going to be the main character.
  • Eshonai: The basics are there, more detail might be good though. Since she's dead, maybe it's worth trying to complete this so that the only thing left after RoW is whatever flashbacks she gets?
  • Adolin: Extremely detailed through WoR, OB barely started.
  • Szeth: Looks pretty good actually.
  • Renarin: Practically nothing from WoK or WoR, minimal OB content (Part 1 might be covered okay, but that's it).
  • Jasnah: Looks okay through WoR, very basics of OB look like they're there, but could use more detail.
  • Navani: In pretty good shape; some attention wouldn't hurt, but I think it'd be okay if it doesn't get much.

List of Commonly Linked to Disambigs

Formatting Notes

Add spaces in front of lines to create boxes like this: 

There's hidden  text here, click "edit" if you want to see how it's done
Mouseover text
When using side quotes, make sure to write "|side=left/right|size=XXXpx" (instead of "|left/right|XXXpx") to avoid the "Sidequote with lazy parameters" category
Put a : at the front of an internal link if it's to the Category namespace (otherwise you just add the article to the category) or the File namespace (otherwise you just display the image)
Use — for em dashes.

Projects

Personal

General quality

De-stubbing the cosmere (Last checked 2020-02-01):

Subpages

Small Workspace (Currently for cosmere revisions)

Note: I'm not putting too much effort into layout (sidequotes and images mostly) just yet, because the text isn't set in stone steel yet and if it changes that could impact layout. I do intend to add more though, especially images.

Outline
Code: Not Started, Started, Written; Needs Extensive Revisions, Written; Needs Minor Revisions, Revised; Ready for Style Review

  • Intro
  • Properties and Forces
    • Realms
    • Investiture
    • Adonalsium
      • Shards of Adonalsium
  • Planets
  • History
    • Before the Shattering
    • The Shattering of Adonalsium
    • Odium's Quest
    • The Ascension of Harmony
    • Splintering of Honor and the True Desolation
    • Trell and Scadrial
  • Worldhoppers
    • Hoid
    • Worldhopping Groups
      • The Seventeenth Shard
      • Silverlight
      • The Ire
      • The Ghostbloods
    • Other Worldhoppers
  • Development
  • Bibliography of the Cosmere
    • Forthcoming Change this to "Forthcoming Novels"; I'm not talking about all the novellas Brandon's mentioned. Maybe add {{for|Unpublished works}}.
    • Chronological Order
  • Trivia If there's more trivia, I'd like to simplify the capitalization section to a bullet point. If not, I'd prefer to get rid of this entirely.
    • Capitalization
  • See Also Considering nixing this as well; all of these topics will have {{for}}s throughout the article. The articles (and TOC) is already pretty long.

Stuff Cut from Cosmere Page

Content I wrote for the new cosmere page, was too detailed, but might be useful elsewhere

Cognitive Realm
The reason for this [land/water] inversion also has something to do with how people think, as well as where they are likely to pass.[1] 

Not hedging on the land/water inversion being limited to Roshar and Scadrial. Leras implies it's a universal property; nuance can be discussed elsewhere.

Spiritual Realm
Since the Spiritual Realm is not truly a place, travel to it does not so much involve literally going there, but rather seeing the various Connections of the present and into the future. For example, when Elend Venture burned atium with duralumin, he was pulled mostly into the Spiritual Realm for a moment and understood Leras' plan for the death of Ati.[2][3] Visions, such as the ones Honor left for potential Bondsmiths, almost always involved being pulled partially into the Spiritual Realm, with an additional "Cognitive framework" to provide the structure of the vision.[4]

Investiture
Like regular matter and energy, Investiture, when highly concentrated, causes time dilation.[5] any pure Investiture in a solid state is always a metal.[6]

Odium's Impact on Selish CR
First, it made the Cognitive Realm around Sel incredibly dangerous, as Devotion and Dominion's Investiture is trapped together in a high-energy state known as the Dor, without enough "escape valves" to stabilize the system.[7][8] Second, because the Cognitive Realm was distinct locations and the Spiritual Realm does not, systems of Investiture on Sel became highly-location dependent—different systems of Investiture exist in different regions and the symbols used to access the Dor are often derived from geographical features.[7][9][10][11]

  1. ↑ Mistborn: Secret History part 3 chapter 2#
  2. ↑ Shadows of Self Chicago signing
    — Arcanum - 2015-10-12#
  3. ↑ The Hero of Ages chapter 81#
  4. ↑ JordanCon 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-04-22#
  5. ↑ Starsight Release Party
    — Arcanum - 2019-11-26#
  6. ↑ Emerald City Comic Con 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-03-01#
  7. ↑ a b Arcanum Unbounded - The Selish System#
  8. ↑ /r/Stormlight_Archive
    — Arcanum - 2013-03-11#
  9. ↑ The Emperor's Soul - Day 30#
  10. ↑ Elantris chapter 49#
  11. ↑ Elantris chapter 55#

Spren

{{lifeform |image=Deathspren by Ashley Coad.png |type={{tag+|Splinter}} |abilities=Forming bonds |use=[[Fabrial]]s |native=[[Cognitive Realm]] |world=Roshar |universe=[[Cosmere]] |books=[[The Stormlight Archive]] }}

“Spren appear when something changes—when fear appears, or when it begins to rain. They are the heart of change, and therefore the heart of all things. ”

Spren are fragments of the powers of creation that have gained sentience through the influence of sapient beings on Roshar.[2] They are vastly varied in their appearances, characteristics, and levels of intelligence.[3] They are deeply connected with the Knights Radiant, as a Nahel Bond between humans and spren is what allows the former to use Surgebinding.[4] They are also used to create fabrials.[5]

Spren are far more extensive and numerous than the closest comparable entities, seons and skaze, Splinters of Devotion and Dominion respectively. This is one of the reasons Roshar does not have the same problem with travelling to the Cognitive Realm as Sel -- even though Honor is Splintered just like the other two Shards, on Roshar, spren act as a "release valve" for the uncontrolled power of Honor.[6]

Characteristics

“We don’t sleep; we don’t eat. I think we might feed off humans, actually. Your emotions. Or you thinking about us, maybe. It all seems very complicated. In Shadesmar, we can think on our own, but if we go to your realm, we need a human bond. Otherwise, we’re practically as mindless as those gloryspren. ”

—Sylphrena on the nature of spren[7]

Definition

For Rosharans, the term "spren" has broad application. Entities such as Shards, Cognitive Shadows and other beings from beyond the Physical Realm would be considered spren by the Rosharans.[8][9] Among those are Cognitive aspects of objects. Those Cognitive aspects are based on how the objects are viewed by the surrounding entities and how long they've been the way they currently are.[1] These "spren" can be spoken to in the Cognitive Realm and bribed with Stormlight, which forms the basis of Soulcasting.[10] In Shadesmar, they usually take the form of small beads, akin to spheres that serve as Roshar's currency. A skilled person can "manifest" a bead, making it take the form of its Physical counterpart.[11]

In the strictest sense, however, spren are splinters of one or more Shards, with a single spren being composed of one or more types of Investiture. Most spren are splinters of Honor and Cultivation, or a mixture of both that leans towards either one Shard or the other.[12] There are said to be thousands of different kinds of spren, each named for a different type of phenomenon.[13] They vary vastly in size, with the smallest being the size of a thumbnail, while the largest can dwarf buildings.[14][15]

Creation

Spren are generally personification of certain cognitive ideals and concepts;[16] as such, they come into being in the realm of thought, the Cognitive Realm. There, loose Investiture left behind by the Shards comes alive, shaped and given cognizance by the ideas and concepts of the collective experience of sentient creatures. Over time, those ideas and concepts, imprinted upon scraps of Investiture, become personified as an external entity, becoming spren.

Some spren predate the arrival of Honor and Cultivation to Roshar, and perhaps even the Shattering. These are Splinters of Adonalsium itself that it left behind intentionally and that have attained sentience on their own since then.[17] This tendency towards sentience, which can be seen both in Shard-derived spren and Adonalsium-derived spren, is a result of cosmere-wise phenomenon of Investiture attaining sentience when left on its own.[18] However, while comparable entities exist on other worlds -- most notably, seons and skaze -- the sheer amount of spren created is unique to Roshar.

The cognitive ideals that create spren are similar to those that determine the appearances of the Returned on Nalthis and the plausibility of Forgeries on Sel, and are based off of human perception.[19][20]

Functioning

by LittleGreyDragon
Mayalaran, a deadeye spren
For more information about spren death, see Deadeye.

Spren do not need to sleep,[21] but they can die.[22] Spren with a Nahel Bond can die if their bonded Surgebinder breaks their Oaths to an untenable degree. However, there are stages to spren death, and it's not necessarily one-way. If the Radiant who broke their Oaths is not yet at the point where they would acquire a Shardblade, the spren simply seems to disappear.[23] Such a spren can be brought back to life if the Radiant returns to abiding by the Oaths, and re-swears them. It's possible that swearing the next level of the Ideals is a necessary part of the process.[24]

By contrast, a spren that has been killed after their Radiant acquires a Shardblade leaves behind a dead Shardblade, and while in Shadesmar, they take the form of a deadeye.[25][26] A deadeye is a zombie-like figure with scratched-out eyes, constantly striving to mindlessly reach the location of its Blade.[26] Whether it can be brought back to life is uncertain, although it has never happened before.[27]

In Shadesmar, spren appear to feed off Highstorms, growing more lively and energetic when one passes over them.[26] They are attracted to the particular phenomena they are named after, popping up around the affected area or person -- for example, someone who is scared will attract fearspren.[28] However, the causal link between spren and their namesake is not fully understood on Roshar, as some spren, like rotspren, are believed to cause their namesake rather than being attracted by it.[4]

Larger spren have the ability to shape-shift, often mimicking faces, as well as being able to mimic voices.[15] They also have the ability to pick up small objects and give small pinches of energy.[29] They will often appear to a singular person, who they will taunt and play with.[30] Some humans have the ability to see these spren, even if the spren in question does not explicitly reveal itself to the viewer. These people are called alaii'iku by the Unkalaki.[31]

Some spren are also related to the physical phenomena of wave-function collapse -- one can fix certain spren's dimensions simply by the act of measuring it.[32]

Classification of Spren

Several types of lesser spren (and a Reacher), as seen in Shadesmar

While their variety is near-infinite, all spren can be classified into several groups.

Nature and Emotion Spren

Spren naturally found on Roshar are divided into nature spren and emotion spren.[2] Emotion spren are attracted to sensations like anger, joy or passion; they are composed of more Honor than Cultivation. Examples include angerspren and laughterspren. Nature spren are attracted to natural phenomena like wind, decay or rain, and have more Cultivation than Honor in them.[33] Examples include flamespren and rainspren. Emotion spren will react to emotional Allomancy.[34]

While the lesser spren are often invisible, they are said to be ever present and will pop up around the phenomenon they are named for.[35] Some spren are easier to find than others, though even the most common will, at times, fail to appear.[15] In Shinovar in particular, all types of spren are exceptionally rare.[36][37]

Lesser Spren

The vast majority of all spren are non-sapient; these are called the lesser spren, or subspren.[8] Although some can speak, talking with them is generally an exercise in futility, which leads to people ignoring them a lot of the time.[30] Spren of the same sub-type are essentially the same individual, with no differences between any two entities.[38] They are capable of forming a bond with humans, though it is different from the Nahel bond of true spren.[39] As creatures of nature, spren are not particularly concerned with good and evil.[40]

Lesser spren vary in how much they appear in the Physical Realm. Some, like windspren, exist almost entirely in the Physical, having next to no imprint on Shadesmar. By contrast, others exist mostly in Shadesmar, with only parts of them, like tongues or drool, visible in the Physical.[41] There are also spren like mandras (luckspren), who will often and easily switch between existing in the Cognitive and the Physical. In Shadesmar, this phenomenon is called "dropping", as the spren appears to drop out of existence, and then drop back in.[11]

True Spren

“There are no foolish oaths. All are the mark of men and true spren over beasts and subspren. The mark of intelligence, free will, and choice. ”

—Stormfather on what separates sapient from sentient beings[8]

In contrast, spren that do possess sapience are referred to as true spren.[8] They seem to all represent higher concepts, such as honor for honorspren and truth and lies for Cryptics. Nine types of true spren bond with humans to grant them Nahel Bonds and thus, the power of Surgebinding; however, more types of sapient spren exist.[42]

While true spren can transition into the Physical Realm, they do so rarely, and only when seeking to bond a prospective Knight Radiant. This is because transition between the Realms leaves holes in their memories and impairs their cognitive functions in some ways.[43] Even after forming a bond, moving too far from their bonded Surgebinder will cause the spren's mental capacity to degrade once more.[44][7]

Once the true spren make the transition, they cannot affect the Physical Realm in any but the most minor ways.[43] While in Shadesmar, most sapient spren have a humanoid shape and size, in the Physical Realm they usually take on a smaller and simpler form.[2]

In Shadesmar, true spren have their own culture, politics and nations; though the Cognitive Realm was created by creatures of the Physical, it is spren who shape and rule it.[3] Some spren, like Cryptics or highspren, have nation-states, composed wholly of spren of their own kind;[45][46] others, like honorspren, seem to rule a nation of their own, but also allow other types of true spren to live with them.[47] There are also city-states such as Celebrant, where various spren live together.[48]

by Bonnie Johnson
Glys, a corrupted Truthwatcher spren

Odium's Influence

For a list of known spren corruptions, see #Corrupted Spren.

Lesser spren can be corrupted by Sja-Anat, a process which she refers to as "enlightening".[49] Such corrupted spren will appear to be misshapen compared to their regular counterparts, with various parts of them exaggerated to a more painful degree -- for example, a hand becoming more wiry and bony, or petals turning into shards of glass.[50][51]

Separately, there exist voidspren, spren made up of the essence of Odium. The lesser voidspren are, like their native Rosharan counterparts, non-sentient. They can, however, form bonds with singers, granting them Regal forms, which often include supernatural powers and a change in mindset in the singer.[52]

Some spren of Odium are also sapient, making them true spren. Unlike their Honor- and Cultivation-aligned kin, sapient voidspren are capable of retaining their higher functions in the Physical Realm without bonding a person.[53] Those spren are usually imprisoned on Braize, along with the rest of Odium's forces, but they are capable of escaping and traveling to Roshar.[54] They tend to look like small Shin humans, and have colors such as yellow or red.[53][54] Whether sapient voidspren are capable of granting powers to other creatures is uncertain.

Sja-Anat has also gained the ability to corrupt true spren -- something she was unable to do in the past Desolations.[50] Spren corrupted by Sja-Anat undergo the same type of physical change as the lesser spren.[55] They can still form Nahel Bonds, although the bond will behave somewhat differently in a manner that remains poorly-understood. Notably, the corruption does not force the spren to turn to Odium.[56]

Unique Spren

For a list of unique spren, see #Known unique spren.

There are a small number of spren that are one of a kind, with no other like them in the world. Those include the native spren of Roshar, such as the Nightwatcher, the Stormfather, Cusicesh and the Sibling, as well as the nine great spren of Odium called the Unmade. Each of them appears to have a unique power or ability -- for example, Nightwatcher can grant boons and banes, Moelach can induce Death Rattles, and the Stormfather commands the highstorms. The intelligence of unique spren varies greatly -- while some have almost humanlike minds, others are animalistic and act more as forces than they do as people.[57] The former are capable of communicating with humans, and picking who can and cannot hear them.[58]

At least some unique spren can be bonded. Bondsmiths gain their powers from such bonds, with the Stormfather being one of the three great Bondsmith spren.[59][60] Some Unmade also bond with people -- Yelig-Nar grants the use of all ten Surges to whoever swallows a gem containing him, and Re-Shephir attempts to displace a Nahel Bond.[61][62] Whether an Unmade can become a Bondsmith spren is unknown at this point in time.

Symbiotic Relationships

Some types of spren exist in symbiotic relationships with various other creatures living on Roshar.[63] In most cases, such a relationship is facilitated by a gemheart, a crystal inside a creature's body that allows them to house the spren.

Bonds With Animals

Large animals, most notably the greatshells, utilize spren bonds to grow to enormous sizes that would not be otherwise possible. There seem to be two types of spren facilitating this -- an unknown type living in their gemhearts, and mandras, which decrease the pull of gravity on their bodies.[64][11] Skyeels also form bonds with mandras, which allow them to outright fly despite not having wings.[11]

Non-crustacean creatures forming spren bonds include the Ryshadium, a breed of horses which have evolved to attract some type of spren -- most likely musicspren.[65] This bond is the possible reason for the Ryshadium's unusually high intelligence, as well as their prodigious strength and other adaptations to Rosharan environment.[66][67] The "magic fish" of the Purelake are another example of Rosharan fauna forming symbiotic bonds with spren.[63] Eating the fish grants numerous benefits, ranging from medicinal, like curing aches, to outright supernatural, like predicting when someone will come to visit or locating missing persons.[15] Whether or not the Ryshadiums and the fish have gemhearts is unknown.

Singer Forms

Singers can attain different forms by taking a spren into their gemheart during a highstorm.[68] Each such form comes with a slightly different physical shape, and even different biology—for example, only mateform, slaveform, and possibly dullform are capable of reproducing, while warform is taller and more muscular, with ridges and natural plating to protect its wearer.[69][70]

Such bonds are formed only with non-sentient spren, and once the singer changes a form, the spren is released from the gemheart, unharmed.[71] When the bond is formed with a lesser voidspren, the singer gains a Regal form.[52]

The spren with which the singer bonds is closely related with the form provided. Artform, for example, requires creationspren,[72] while stormform requires stormspren.[73]

by Julia Metzger
Syl with Kaladin, using Gravitation

Nahel Bond

For more information, see Nahel Bond.

Each Order of the Knights Radiant forms a Nahel Bond with a different type of true spren.[74] This bond is similar in nature to the bond between a seon and its master, albeit unlike a seon bond, a Nahel bond grants numerous benefits to both parties.[75] The spren gains the capacity to retain higher mental functions while bonded; their partner gains access to Surgebinding.[4] Though historically, only humans could become Surgebinders, during the True Desolation some spren have managed to form a Nahel Bond with a singer, although how this changes things is unknown.[76][77] It's theoretically possible for someone to bond multiple spren, although this would require a lot of upkeep on the bondee's side in an effort not to break the rules of either bond.[78]

Each Nahel Bond grants access to two Surges, with every Surge shared between two orders.[79] Surgebinders that are organized into proper Orders, rather than acting on their own, are known as Knights Radiant.

The bond between a Knight and their spren can be strengthened by verbally or mentally stating certain Ideals or ideas related to their Order. Once the bond has strengthened to a certain point, the spren gains the ability to become a Shardblade when needed.[24] A sword is the base form for a Shardblade, since they were fashioned after the Honorblades, but they can become any shape their Knight needs, such as a spear, hammer, or shield. While in a Shardblade form, the spren can communicate with their Surgebinder through their mind.[80]

Spren known to facilitate Nahel Bonds include:

Bondsmiths powers are granted by some of the unique spren, including the Stormfather.[59] The names of spren of the orders of Stonewards and Truthwatchers are not known at this point, although the spren themselves have been seen. A Truthwatcher spren appears as a patch of light, as if reflected from a mirror, while in the Physical Realm;[81] a Stoneward spren looks like a humanoid figure with skin of cracked stone and molten light glowing from within while in Shadesmar.[48]

Notable Radiant Spren

Corrupted Spren

Sketches of corrupted painspren and shamespren

The Unmade Sja-anat has the ability to corrupt spren, which she calls Enlightening. In the past, she could only corrupt lesser spren; presently, even Radiant spren and Oathgate spren are possible for her to Enlighten.[49] These corrupted spren are drawn to the same phenomena, but are different in appearance from the typical spren. Syl believes that corrupted spren can be recognized by vividly red color, though not all spren fit this description.[87]

Overall, corrupted spren seem to appear more painful, twisted and more intense -- the fire is blue-hot rather than red, streamers turn into whips, edges grow sharper and more jagged.[88][89]

  • Angerspren: instead of pools of blood, they resemble bubbling pools of tar. Upon popping, the bubbles burn red, like embers.[90]
  • Anticipationspren: instead of the typical flat streamers, they have long, thin tendrils that resemble whips or tentacles.[91][89]
  • Awespren: corrupted awespren appear as soot-black puffs.[92]
  • Exhaustionspren: they are bright red instead of their typical brown, and distorted, looking more like small red whirlwinds.[92][92]
  • Flamespren: vivid blue instead of the traditional red and orange. They appear more jagged than their non-corrupted counterparts.[88]
  • Gloryspren: take the shape of a cube instead of a globe.[50] In the Cognitive Realm, they are described as looking bone-white and brown, with wings extending to the sides, long tresses for a tail, and golden cubes for heads.[49]
  • Hungerspren: much more rare than their uncorrupted versions, even in Kholinar.[51] They are black, and resemble the flies seen on rotting plants. [89]
  • Oathgate Spren: the corrupted spren of the Kholinar Oathgate are described as looking like stretched-out versions of people, 30 feet tall, hovering in the air. One is pitch-black and the other is red.[93]
  • Painspren: sickly green as compared to their normal orange, as well as deformed or distorted, no longer resembling human hands.[94]
  • Shamespren: resemble pieces of broken glass instead of petals.[94]
  • Windspren: the corrupted windspren are only described as "...trailing red light."[88] Whether this means that the ribbons of light themselves were red is unclear.
  • Glys: rather than looking like a reflected light, Glys appears as a crystalline structure dripping red glow upwards.[55] While the Progression Surge he grants appears to remain unaltered, Renarin seems unable to use Illumination and has visions of the future.[66]

Known unique spren

Unique spren are spren that are one of a kind, or at least exceedingly rare and powerful. Most of them appear to have been created, or at least heavily affected, by direct Shardic influence. They include:

Cusicesh

For more information, see Cusicesh.

Also known as Cusicesh the Protector, it's one of the largest known spren to take physical form. It makes its home in Kasitor Bay, where it rises from at exactly seven forty-six in the morning every day. It takes the form of a tall column of water, topped with a face turning towards the Origin. The face is constantly changing, cycling through numerous different sets of features for ten minutes before retreating back into the water. Cusicesh also has four long feet, which it plants on the shore as it rises.[15]

Cusicesh is worshipped by the people of Kasitor, who not only set their clocks by its arrival, but have also built golden plinths at the spots where Cusicesh's feet land. However, people who are in the vicinity of Cusicesh when it appears often report a sense of fatigue after it vanishes, which may or may not be because of expectation.[15]

Nightwatcher

For more information, see Nightwatcher.

The Nightwatcher is a splinter of Cultivation,[95] and has been raised by Cultivation akin to a child.[96] She holds court in an overgrown, fertile region known as the Valley of the Nightwatcher, slightly south of Urithiru, in the mountains of Greater Hexi.[97] Any visitor there can ask for a boon; she might bestow something that strives to fulfill that boon. However, each boon is also associated with a curse, which is not necessarily matching.[98] Boons can range from mental alterations, such as renown or skill, or physical gifts, like wealth or magical objects. However, the Nightwatcher has some problems understanding more abstract requests, like forgiveness or unchanging. For this reason, Cultivation monitors her closely, intervening if need be.[96]

The boon and curse system is known to Rosharans as Old Magic.[98]

Stormfather

by Noblesgal
Stormfather
For more information, see Stormfather.

The Stormfather is one of the oldest entities on Roshar, having existed in some form prior to the Shattering.[99] He's the Cognitive manifestation of peoples' impression of the highstorm[53]. He exists mostly in the Physical Realm, with only a minor Shadesmar presence.[100] He commands the highstorms that circle the planet, with the ability to chose when to send one.[101] While he generally accompanies storms, his level of power allows him to be much more omnipresent.[102] He's one of the three main Bondsmith spren, granting the Surges of Adhesion and Tension.[59]

To the singers, the Stormfather is known as the Rider of Storms. At some point, he has switched sides to humans, leading to listeners feeling betrayed by him.[68] He was also changed by Honor shortly before the latter's death, providing him with more awareness, and partly merging him with Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow.[103] Dalinar's ability to open Honor's Perpendicularity might have something to do with it.[104]

The Sibling

For more information, see Sibling.

The Sibling is a major spren associated with the tower-city of Urithiru, and possibly one of the Bondsmith spren. They have been dormant since the Recreance, after a prolonged decline that saw many of the tower's life support systems failing, eventually forcing the Knights Radiant to abandon the city.[105][106] Stormfather asserts that the Sibling's withdrawal is tied to humankind hurting them in the past in some manner.[107]

Unlike most known true spren, the Sibling did not view themselves as male or female, and in fact found the spren's adherence to physical creatures' gender norms to be bizarre.[108]

The Unmade

For more information, see Unmade.

“We were made, then unmade. ”

The Unmade are a group of nine ancient spren of Odium.[110] Each of them are exceedingly massive and powerful, and each has a unique form and effect on the surrounding enviornment.[111] They vary vastly in not only their appearance, but also their level of intelligence, with some being mindless, while others are capable of complex thought.[77][109] Unlike most servants of Odium, many Umade have remained on Roshar after the Aharietiam, and dwell there to this day.[112]

by Ashley Coad
Nergaoul

The Unmade are:

  • Ashertmarn - also called Heart of the Revel. Causes people in its sphere of influence to give into mindless debauchery and excess. Last seen in Kholinar, although it withdrew to lure Shallan into using the local Oathgate, making its current location uncertain.[50]
  • Ba-Ado-Mishram - one of the intelligent Unmade. Can connect with the singers, granting them access to Voidlight and Regal forms.[113] She has been trapped at the end of the False Desolation, and is yet to be seen in the present day.
  • Chemoarish - also known as the Dustmother.[114] Very little is known about her, as she is yet to be seen.
  • Dai-Gonarthis - sometimes called the Black Fisher. As with Chemoarish, his true nature is unknown at this point in time.[115]
  • Moelach - doesn't appear to have a presence in the Physical Realm, but causes Death Rattles in some people who die within his sphere of influence.[116] Last seen in the environs of Vedenar.[117]
  • Nergaoul - an animalistic Unmade; usually doesn't have a presence in the Physical Realm, but can take the form of a cloud of red mist with various shapes within in. Its presence causes a lust for battle known as the Thrill.[55] At the present, it has been captured and imprisoned in the King's Drop by Dalinar.[77]
  • Re-Shephir - known as the Midnight Mother. She can create Midnight Essence, monsters that mimic the creatures around them. Has been nesting in Urithiru until Shallan banishes her; her current whereabouts are unknown.[53]
  • Sja-Anat - one of the intelligent Unmade, once called the Taker of Secrets. She can "enlighten" spren, corrupting them with Odium's Investiture. In the present, she appears to be unwilling to continue working with Odium, and is looking for a way to switch sides.[109]
  • Yelig-Nar - sometimes called the Blightwind.[118] He's capable of bonding with people who swallow a gemstone containing him, granting them the use of all ten Surges. Was present at the Battle of Thaylen Field, although the Fused have presumably took him back when they withdrew.[77]

Myths and Lore

Apart from the real spren, Rosharan folklore has a small number of creatures whose existence is questionable, but which are also referred to as spren. Chief among them are the Dawnsingers, which the Vorin theology teaches were servants of the Almighty, sent by him to care for mankind on Roshar.[119] In the lore, Dawnsingers are credited with bestowing numerous gifts upon humanity, including the Dawnchant, humanity's original written language, and Dawncities, a group of ancient settlements following cymatic patterns.[120][121] The ardents of Palanaeum claim that their library was constructed by the Dawnsingers.[35] It's eventually revealed, however, that the Dawnsingers aren't spren, but rather the ancient singers, the original inhabitants of Roshar.[122]

Standing in opposition to the Dawnsinges in the folklore are the Voidbringers, which in the Era of Solitude are believed to be a type of evil spren.[119] They are said to have existed in ancient times, walking the land with bodies of stone.[28] Other stories claim that the Voidbringers stalk the most violent highstorms, or that they live out in the wilderness, coming out only at night. Most tales agree that Voidbringers would eat human flesh.[123][124] Those stories appear to be inspired by different types of Odium's servants, who likely merged together into a single, nebulous entity in the public consciousness over the millennia.

Finally, there are several types of spren that the common knowledge doesn't align with Odium, but which are considered malicious nonetheless. Those include the raspings, the stormwhispers, and the nightspren, of which the last are considered to be the most fearsome and dangerous. Those spren are mostly believed in by the more traditional, rural followers of Vorinism. The more educated segment of the populace considers them to be ancient fabrications, created by the Knights Radiant past to support their dominance.[125]

Theories and Speculation

{{theory}}

Cousin spren

Each order of the Knights Radiant bonds to a different true spren, and each has been shown to attract a different kind of lesser spren in various circumstances. For example:

What this means, if anything, is uncertain; it has been speculated that the lesser spren will eventually form Shardplate, once the Radiants reach a high enough level.

Bondsmith spren

The singular nature of the Bondsmith spren has led to some speculation regarding which named spren could bestow a Bondsmith Nahel Bond. Candidates commonly put forth include:

  • Nightwatcher, whom Brandon has previously stated is on the same level as the Stormfather[130]
  • Cusicesh, as it's a powerful spren that's worshipped by the people watching it[15]
  • The Sibling, based on their connection to Urithiru and the Stormfather's comments about how humans had harmed them before[107]

There has also been some speculation regarding whether an Unmade can form a Bondsmith bond. The most common topic of such speculation is Sja-Anat, who has previously shown interest in breaking ties with Odium.

Notes

  1. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 37#
  2. ↑ a b c Words of Radiance chapter 3#
  3. ↑ a b c Words of Radiance chapter 1#
  4. ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 57#
  5. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 33#
  6. ↑ /r/Stormlight_Archive
    — Arcanum - 2013-03-11#
  7. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 91#
  8. ↑ a b c d Oathbringer chapter 4#
  9. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 38#
  10. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 48#
  11. ↑ a b c d Oathbringer chapter 99#
  12. ↑ Skyward Denver signing
    — Arcanum - 2018-11-15#
  13. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 49#
  14. ↑ Rosharan Wines
  15. ↑ a b c d e f g The Way of Kings interlude I-5#
  16. ↑ General Reddit 2013
    — Arcanum - 2013-04-02#
  17. ↑ Steelheart Seattle signing
    — Arcanum - 2013-10-14#
  18. ↑ Arcanum Unbounded signing Chicago
    — Arcanum - 2016-12-06#
  19. ↑ /r/fantasy AMA 2013
    — Arcanum - 2013-04-18#
  20. ↑ /r/fantasy AMA 2013
    — Arcanum - 2013-04-15#
  21. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 14#
  22. ↑ Firefight Chicago signing
    — Arcanum - 2015-02-20#
  23. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 69#
  24. ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 84#
  25. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 87#
  26. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 101#
  27. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 28#
  28. ↑ a b The Way of Kings prologue#
  29. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 6#
  30. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 2#
  31. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 21#
  32. ↑ The Way of Kings interlude I-8#
  33. ↑ Writing for Charity Conference
    — Arcanum - 2012-03-17#
  34. ↑ Out of Excuses 2016
    — Arcanum - 2016-09-23#
  35. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 7#
  36. ↑ The Way of Kings interlude I-4#
  37. ↑ Oathbringer London signing
    — Arcanum - 2017-11-28#
  38. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 17#
  39. ↑ Fantasy Faction interview
    — Arcanum - 2014-04-24#
  40. ↑ Google+ Hangout
    — Arcanum - 2012-04-17#
  41. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 95#
  42. ↑ JordanCon 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-04-22#
  43. ↑ a b Words of Radiance interlude I-9#
  44. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 9#
  45. ↑ Words of Radiance epilogue#
  46. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 47#
  47. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 108#
  48. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 102#
  49. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 97#
  50. ↑ a b c d Oathbringer chapter 77#
  51. ↑ a b Kholinar Spren
  52. ↑ a b Oathbringer interlude I-7#
  53. ↑ a b c d e Oathbringer chapter 31#
  54. ↑ a b Oathbringer interlude I-3#
  55. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 115#
  56. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 117#
  57. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 104 epigraph#
  58. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 83#
  59. ↑ a b c d Words of Radiance chapter 89#
  60. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 44 epigraph#
  61. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 95 epigraph#
  62. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 30#
  63. ↑ a b General Signed Books 2013
    — Arcanum - 2013-12-18#
  64. ↑ 17th Shard Forum Q&A
    — Arcanum - 2012-09-27#
  65. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 26#
  66. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 10#
  67. ↑ Arcanum Unbounded - The Rosharan System#
  68. ↑ a b Words of Radiance interlude I-5#
  69. ↑ /r/books AMA
    — Arcanum - 2015-05-19#
  70. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 79#
  71. ↑ JordanCon 2016
    — Arcanum - 2016-04-23#
  72. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 29 epigraph#
  73. ↑ Words of Radiance interlude I-11#
  74. ↑ Words of Radiance Chicago signing
    — Arcanum - 2014-03-22#
  75. ↑ Steelheart Chicago signing
    — Arcanum - 2013-10-01#
  76. ↑ Words of Radiance Washington, DC signing
    — Arcanum - 2014-03-20#
  77. ↑ a b c d e f g Oathbringer chapter 120#
  78. ↑ Words of Radiance signing Chicago
    — Arcanum - 2014-03-22#
  79. ↑ Surgebinding Table
  80. ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 86#
  81. ↑ Edgedancer chapter 20#
  82. ↑ Words of Radiance prologue#
  83. ↑ Arcanum Unbounded Fort Collins signing
    — Arcanum - 2016-11-29#
  84. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 88#
  85. ↑ Edgedancer chapter 2#
  86. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 27#
  87. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 89#
  88. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 78#
  89. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 72#
  90. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 67#
  91. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 63#
  92. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 74#
  93. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 87#
  94. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 62#
  95. ↑ JordanCon 2016
    — Arcanum - 2016-04-23#
  96. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 114#
  97. ↑ Map of Roshar
  98. ↑ a b The Way of Kings interlude I-7#
  99. ↑ Emerald City Comic Con 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-03-01#
  100. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 107#
  101. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 83#
  102. ↑ Shadows of Self San Francisco signing
    — Arcanum - 2015-10-09#
  103. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 113#
  104. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 119#
  105. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 68 epigraph#
  106. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 69 epigraph#
  107. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 111#
  108. ↑ Skyward Pre-Release AMA
    — Arcanum - 2018-11-03#
  109. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 84#
  110. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 1#
  111. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 89 epigraph#
  112. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 92 epigraph#
  113. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 80 epigraph#
  114. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 108 epigraph#
  115. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 113 epigraph#
  116. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 82 epigraph#
  117. ↑ Words of Radiance interlude I-14#
  118. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 45 epigraph#
  119. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 45#
  120. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 33#
  121. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 54#
  122. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 11#
  123. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 4#
  124. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 43 epigraph#
  125. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 42#
  126. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 9#
  127. ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 52#
  128. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 3#
  129. ↑ Edgedancer chapter 8#
  130. ↑ JordanCon 2016
    — Arcanum - 2016-04-23#

{{complete}} {{Stormlight}} Category:Magic Category:Notable articles

Retrieved from "https://coppermind.net/wiki/User:Stargazer?&oldid=117729"